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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: Taliban militants on Sunday
hanged three Afghans in the town of Musa Qala, which they have held
for two months, after accusing them of spying, the rebels and
witnesses said.
One body was strung up in the
center of the small town in the southern province of Helmand and the
other two at its entrances, a local merchant told AFP by telephone.
A Taliban commander who
identified himself as Mullah Nizam claimed responsibility for the
killings, similar to executions by the 1996-2001 Taliban government
which enforced a harsh version of Islamic Sharia law.
A Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi
confirmed the movement was responsible for the hangings.
The three were tried in a Taliban
“court,” Nizam said.
“They confessed they were
spying for the government and foreign forces. We hanged them to set
an example for others not to spy on us,” Nizam said.
He claimed the three had in
particular spied on late commander Mullah Abdul Manan, whose forces
took control of the town early February.
Manan was killed February 11 in a
precision air strike by NATO’s International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF), which is trying to help the government handle a
growing Taliban insurgency.
A merchant in the town named Haji
Mia Gul told AFP one of the bodies was in the center of the town,
one at its northern entrance and a third at its southern entrance.
At the government’s request,
ISAF agreed not to operate in an area around Musa Qala while the
elders kept the Taliban in check.
ISAF and the defense force say
they could use force to take back Musa Qala but the government
prefers to try to negotiate a solution.
Reports said they ask for ISAF
support which was supported in such manner.  --AFP
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